First Steps. My name is Adeline, but you can call “The Frenchy”. I'm from France, the country of the wine and cheese. It makes me remember how I miss that good stuff... I am seventeen years old and I left everything behind me, friends and family, to come live one year in California. Some call it courage, I call it curiosity. I would like to share with you my mind about your beautiful country. You know me well enough for now, so let's talk about my rich and funny American experiences!Your mind is probably full of “What a foolish girl she is!”. Let me explain my reasons. Overseas, and wherever in the world, we have something called the “American Dream”. Have you ever heard of that? The trend of life in America is idealized in most of the others countries in the world, and I think by jealousy we tend to blame the United States. I said United States and not America, I know that many people will blame me: America is a continent, not a country. Well, I agree with that. First of all, I'm in love with the English language, it sounds like a sweet melody in my ears. I love the accent of Americans when they speak French. I love the pop culture: American music and movies are my favorite. I love that there are so many different ethnicities that live next to each other. I love that the country is so huge that you can never reach the goal of discovering everything. Coming from an old country with a lot of history, it amazes me to be in a country so new, full of modernity. We always love what we don't have. Straight hair girls want curly hair, and vice versa. Isn't true?I'm open-minded and my parents have taught me since I was young to enjoy travelling. We try to go every year abroad to learn more cultures and customs. So, putting my love for the United States and travelling together, and my feeling that I was mature enough to get away for a while and push my limits, I decided to live my dream instead of dream my life. I became an exchange student and I left the French ground the 24th of August, 2008. A decision I haven't regretted.As I said in Europe and especially in France, there are a lot of stereotypes not always positives about the United States. It was really one of my main principles to come without any of these stereotypes in my mind, to build my own opinion about this country, and I did. Effectively, I find some truthfulness on them but some lies too, but at least now I have learned to discern the true from the false and most importantly: I did it by myself! I learned my lesson; never believe or spread a rumor without knowing is truthfulness.I hope you spend a good time reading, because you will see me back in one month.Aurevoir, Goodbye.